Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Be Nice to Spiders

I love looking for the less famous books of authors who are famous for one character is particular. In this case, Harry the Dirty Dog is the more known cousin of writer and illustrator Margaret Bloy Graham.

Helen went from one building to another, spinning webs, and eating up all the flies. The Zoo became a peaceful place.

A tale of conservation, motherhood and never undervaluing the little guy, it follows the life and times of Helen, a wee spider that is adandoned on the front steps of the zoo by a little boy who can't keep her anymore. She ends up becoming loathed and then loved in the short span of 30 pages and reunites with the boy at the end for a literal explosion of love.